Very Sad Day - AZB loses a valued member

W

Williebetmore

Member, .25% Club
Silver Member
This is NOT a joke; I am profoundly saddened to relay that I have been informed that Bill Johnston (AZB screenname = breakup), has unexpectedly passed away. The news came from Mark Griffin, a good friend of Bill's. For those that didn't know Bill well, he was a cartographer with the Division for Geographic Sciences in Anchorage, Alaska.

As many know, Bill and I had a fake "feud" going for over a year; this news is not part of some hoax. Bill had some significant medical problems over the past year; but in our most recent conversations had stated that he was over them and looking forward to getting back into the pool game he so dearly loved.

He was definitely one of the funniest people I have ever met; and he was a true student of the game. He dearly loved playing pool; and if you have never sweated a DCC gambling match with him; you have missed one of the most entertaining experiences that pool had to offer.

Bill and I had some spectacular "feud" activities planned for the next 2 months; he was a tremendously creative individual. Just a horrible and untimely loss for his family, his friends, and the forum in general. A very bad day in Betmore's Basement:( :( :( :( :( :(

P.S. - Bill requested that there be no memorial service. Anyone wishing to send a personal condolence to his family can PM me for an address.
P.P.S. - If someone wanted to search out some links to breakup's "feud" posts, feel free to post them in this thread. He was very proud of his work. I can't do it now, I'm just crushed by this.
 
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Over the past year or so, I've gotten a great deal of pleasure out of reading the ongoing wars between Betmore and Breakup. They would sometimes lighten up a rough day and other times, drive me crazy from their seemingly endless nature. But one thing was for sure, they were ALWAYS entertaining.

Willie and Breakup gave us a lotta good laughs and good memories.

Its a tremendous loss to this community and I'm sure an even greater loss for Willie.

My deepest sympathies to you Willie as well as to those of the friends and family of Breakup. He will be missed.
 
Don,

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your dear friend. A tremendous loss to the AZ family. I have enjoyed his many comical posts and creativity with photo manipulations.

May he rest in Peace.

JBK
 
Very sad indeed. Some of the funniest things I've read on AZB (anywhere, actually) were in the exchanges between you two guys, and, no offense Willie, but breakup gave at least as good as as he got in those "battles" :)

While I did not know the man personally, I'm sure he will be missed by many. My condolences to his family and friends.

Sincerely,

Aaron
 
Williebetmore said:
This is NOT a joke; I am profoundly saddened to relay that I have been informed that Bill Johnston (AZB screenname = breakup), has unexpectedly passed away. The news came from Mark Griffin, a good friend of Bill's. For those that didn't know Bill well, he was a cartographer with the Division for Geographic Sciences in Anchorage, Alaska.

As many know, Bill and I had a fake "feud" going for over a year; this news is not part of some hoax. Bill had some significant medical problems over the past year; but in our most recent conversations had stated that he was over them and looking forward to getting back into the pool game he so dearly loved.

He was definitely one of the funniest people I have ever met; and he was a true student of the game. He dearly loved playing pool; and if you have never sweated a DCC gambling match with him; you have missed one of the most entertaining experiences that pool had to offer.

Bill and I had some spectacular "feud" activities planned for the next 2 months; he was a tremendously creative individual. Just a horrible and untimely loss for his family, his friends, and the forum in general. A very bad day in Betmore's Basement:( :( :( :( :( :(

P.S. - Bill requested that there be no memorial service. Anyone wishing to send a personal condolence to his family can PM me for an address.
P.P.S. - If someone wanted to search out some links to breakup's "feud" posts, feel free to post them in this thread. He was very proud of his work. I can't do it now, I'm just crushed by this.
Click to expand...

Don,
This a great loss to the forum. I never had the opportunity to meet Bill, but I have seen some videos of you two at the Az room at DCC and he seemed like a really nice, funny guy. Breakup sent me a PM onetime where he said... "Williebetmore is the most miserably ungifted pool player I have ever witnessed" lol. I will miss the back and forth "feud of fun" that you guys had - it always brought a smile to the day. I will say a prayer for Bill's family - and for you - as I know this must be an extremely difficult time for you.

VIDEO: Williebetmore Vs Breakup - for all the jellybeans

RIP Breakup.
 
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Truly a sad day here on AZ and for the pool world. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting breakup his posts were one of the reasons we all keep coming back to this forum.

As I watch the famous "jelly bean" match one more time I am truly saddened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_pyxooKhXs

My sincere condolences to his family and friends.
 
Aw, man, Willie. I am so sorry to hear about this. Bill was one of the funniest people I've ever read and seemed to be such a genuinely, all-around, super guy.

We will all miss Bill and his contributions, but not as much as you will.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Bill's family and friends.
 
Tremendously sad news. I agree with others that have said that his "feud" posts were some of the most entertaining material we've seen on this forum. He seemed like a really fun-loving and good-natured guy.

-Andrew
 
That really sucks... Im very sorry to hear it. My condolences to his family and friends. I never had the pleasure of meeting him.
 
I am horrified and saddened to read this thread. I never met Breakup, but I felt as if he was a part of my family. He brought me sunshine and flowers every time I read one of his posts.

This news hits me hard, and as the tears roll down my face, I will strive to think more about the wonderful moments in time I shared with Breakup. He is going to be sorely missed by this reader.

God bless him, and my deepest sympathy goes out to his family and friends.

JAM
 
Just a disclaimer...those vids are not that funny; there were significant amounts of alcohol ingested prior to that match.

Breakup's forum post's with all of the photoshop work and crazy ideas were definitely more entertaining than those vids.
 
this is very sad news indeed. I loved the banter between the two of you. He will be missed. The forum will not be the same.

Tim
 
R.i.p. Breakup

Williebetmore said:
This is NOT a joke; I am profoundly saddened to relay that I have been informed that Bill Johnston (AZB screenname = breakup), has unexpectedly passed away. The news came from Mark Griffin, a good friend of Bill's. For those that didn't know Bill well, he was a cartographer with the Division for Geographic Sciences in Anchorage, Alaska.

As many know, Bill and I had a fake "feud" going for over a year; this news is not part of some hoax. Bill had some significant medical problems over the past year; but in our most recent conversations had stated that he was over them and looking forward to getting back into the pool game he so dearly loved.

He was definitely one of the funniest people I have ever met; and he was a true student of the game. He dearly loved playing pool; and if you have never sweated a DCC gambling match with him; you have missed one of the most entertaining experiences that pool had to offer.

Bill and I had some spectacular "feud" activities planned for the next 2 months; he was a tremendously creative individual. Just a horrible and untimely loss for his family, his friends, and the forum in general. A very bad day in Betmore's Basement:( :( :( :( :( :(

P.S. - Bill requested that there be no memorial service. Anyone wishing to send a personal condolence to his family can PM me for an address.
P.P.S. - If someone wanted to search out some links to breakup's "feud" posts, feel free to post them in this thread. He was very proud of his work. I can't do it now, I'm just crushed by this.
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry to hear this. I had the good fortune to meet Bill in the AZ Room at the Derby City Classic where Wlliebetmore and Breakup would strut their schtick. Bill would often play the straight man in their comedic drama but often times was the instigator of this online and offline spoof between Williebetmore and Breakup. Bill was a fun person to be around and he will be sorely missed. I believe I remember one last spoof-jab at WBM not long ago on AZ Main Forum and was not aware of his illness. Their classic spoof feud will always be remembered. My sincerest condolences to Bill's family. I plan to ask WBM for Bill's FAMILY address so that I might write a note to his family and hope that others will do the same. I don't believe many family members know how close a group of people we are, sharing not just the love for pool but our lives as well. His personal family should know how much a part of "our family" he was and that he will be sorely missed.
JoeyA
 
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